CAVA — Restaurant in Bridgewater Township

Tried CAVA for the first time last week. It is essentially a Mediterranean version of Chipotle if that makes sense. They have pitas, bowls, salads put together in an assembly line process with options for you to choose along the way. Today, there were about 15 patrons in line and staff looked limited but finally I am at the end of the assembly line and my bowls just needed to be covered with a lid and I needed to pay. Mind you with the wait and then my food being put together from the time I walked in the door until I was about to pay had been 15-17 mins.I dont know what their KPI/customer turnaround targets are but it feels long and essentially what has become the achilles heel of Starbucks drive thrus...waiting-inching up, -waiting-inching up...Ok so the lids were about to be put on my bowl when DANIEL (CAVA staff member) receives a phone call on the store portable phone...he walks away from the counter and he says "9pm" several times so I infer he was telling someone what time they closed...he is laughing with the person on the other end of the line as he hangs up the phone. He now turns his back to me again, and starts talking to another staff member who appears to be bagging and putting together mobile/online orders...So now they are laughing and pal'ing around...Eventually he comes back to counter with the "where were we" body language...now at this point multiple bowls are next to mine and it even took me a min to point out to him which ones were mind among the others. He asks me if I need anything else and I let him know i need the Crazy Feta dip and an order of the spicy pita chips and the regular pita chips...He rings me up and then places all the food in the bag. I check it at the counter and let him know the spicy chips are not there. He pushes the receipt button and then tells me "well I only charged you for one"...I reminded him that I requested two but he may have been distracted by the phone call or his side conversations with the young lady he works with and his co worker at the mobile order area...DANIEL just wasnt focused on the tasks at hand...SO he rings me up for the chips that I had ordered to begin with, and he hands me my change of a 20 dollar bill...he places it in my hands...Then he asks me to open my hands and then he recounts the money which I had the correct change for...all of this going on...just extending the wait and pay transaction for them...I asked Daniel if he was the mgr...He said no...I asked "who is the mgr" and he looks at the ceiling, the wall, other patrons, the counter and mumbles "Lilly"...So, Lilly or the Owner...if you have an opportunity to review customer feedback with the staff...please remind them that when its busy or during peak dinner hrs all the socializing, laughing, joking, chatting with the employee cleaning the griddle, or the mobile order staff, instead of completing orders and ringing up patrons should be avoided. Improves order accuracy and the overall customer experience and reputation for the location and brand. To top it off... After I asked for the mgr's name Daniel gave me the stare down as I walked out because, and I guessed right, he doesnt have the customer service skills to resist the impulse to say something snarky under his breath as i walked away so i looked back and he indeed was looking at me and mouthing something...and in those moments I decided I would chronicle my experience on Yelp/Google. I dont know about you...but when i have a less than positive experience with servers or waiters or staff of a food establishment I patronize...the food just doesnt taste as good as it should. Something about the mood your in and the frustration that just turns the tastebuds off a little...The Braised lamb just didnt hit when...

I just wanna start out by saying I love cava and every time I’ve gone the food has been really good. That’s why I’m giving two stars instead of one.

Now for the tea. When I’m grabbing food for lunch during work, I like to order in the app so I don’t lose time from ordering and waiting for the food. I haven’t ordered cava from the app yet so I did it today and I regret it. I got there at 11:30 (my order was supposed to be ready by 11:20) and my bowl wasn’t ready yet, which is kinda odd considering there were maybe 5 people in there and they opened 30 min ago but whatever I don’t mind. They forgot to add the meat (????) so the guy sprinkled like 10 little pieces of steak on top of all the toppings. I didn’t say anything but I feel like that’s a main thing to forget. I had to ask for the side pita (which was part of my order soooo wouldn’t it be on the ticket…?) and he just like tossed it in there, okay cool. I also requested utensils in the bag but didn’t get those so I grabbed my other stuff. That’s not terrible but like cmon…

The food gave me a stomach ache so bad I considered leaving work early. Honestly 6 hours later my tummy still hurts from that food which is concerning considering I only took 3 bites. I don’t know why I took two more bites after the first, I was hoping it would get better or something. The food was entirely cold. Not even lukewarm, like it was all cold. The steak was dry, cold, and chewy, the rice felt weird to chew, they didn’t put any sauce I ordered, the pita was cold and felt weird, the cucumbers tasted off, the hummus was just off too. I don’t know how to explain the “off” taste but it just was not good. I’ve been to cava plenty of times and get the same thing every time except the steak I usually get the braised lamb, and this did not taste right at all. I should’ve stuck with the lamb y’all, this is what I get for switching it up😭

Also I shouldn’t have taken any bites of the bowl because tell me why the bowl smelled FISHY?????? I’m so serious I took the lid off and it had a fishy odor and it had this like fishy aftertaste too!! I’m 99% sure there’s no fish in anything I got or anything they serve there. Again, I still tried to eat it because it’s the same thing I always get plus I just spent $17 on this of course I’m gonna try and eat it and not waste $17. But alas, I did waste $17 and throw it all out (sorry mom for wasting food). I’m still grossed out by the fishiness of the bowl, why was it fishy???? Today, Cava turned into Caca because this bowl was actually so nasty. I tried to eat something else in my fridge so I don't go back to work hungry but my stomach hurt so bad after that bowl I could barely stomach anything else. Sorry Cava, love u but this was so so bad

So yeah don't order in the app, just go inside and get in line and maybe don't go so soon after they open. I'm definitely gonna go back to Cava at some point because like I said, it's usually so good!! I just need time to get over whatever I got today😭. I don't know what went so wrong this time that I have a stomach ache and a sour taste stuck in my mouth no matter how...

Disappointingly Underwhelming!!! I was at an event with my child and I was hungry, so at recommendation of my friend, headed over to the restaurant located in Bridgewater, NJ. She mentioned visiting the restaurant with her husband some weeks prior and was pleasantly satisfied. Also, my friend is vegan and she's very particular about the establishments that she patronizes to eat. I was really looking forward to my experience. We walked into a busy store and the line was long. While I peruse the menu and wait patiently to place my order, my friend looks over to the drink dispensers, and to her disappointment they are nearly empty. She walks over to request that it be replenished for purchase and she's assured that it will. Meanwhile, I finally get to the front of the line to place my order.

The initial service person is pleasant and begins to take my order and even makes accommodations to personalize my meal. As we get further down the assembly line, I noticed that they're extremely low on toppings, and by the time I get to request mine, I'm told that they've run out for the day. I am told that it is no longer available and they can not replenish it. My disappointment is the lackadaisical response to my disappoint; there was real sense of urgency to amend the issue. Now, keep in mind that the dining room closes at 10 p.m. and it's 8:30 p.m. At this point I decide to cancel my order.

The nail in coffin for me was the fact that my friend waited patiently in line for nearly 20 minutes places her order, waits another 10 minutes for her side of pita chips to be freshly made, and even though she made the request to replenish the beverage station ahead of time, they were still in the same state as when we first entered the establishment, empty!

Now, I have several years of experience and background in the food service and hospitality industry, and there are a few skills and tenants that I have gleamed while working in that arena. 1. You may only have one time to make a good impression, so make it great one. 2. The customer is bread and butter of your business, so you want to make sure they're a repeat customer. 3. And importantly, word of mouth is your best advertisement; if your give quality service, they will come.

Unfortunately, my experience at this establishment was dreadfully disappointing. Suffice it to say, I will not be revisiting that...